Clarita Lefthand Begay

Exploitation is still not progress!

I'm a Diné Ph.D. student at the University of Washington
in
Seattle. I conduct Environmental Health research and I have a strong
interest in Environmental
Justice. During the summer of 2009, I directed the Native
Environmental
Justice Summer Research Program (NEJSRP) in Seattle, WA. I will
continue running this program intermittently overtime. Please
visit the NEJSRP
schedule and objectives for 2009.

One of my goals as a Ph.D. student is to understand the ways in
which Diné conducted science before the colonization of
Europeans. With this information, I intend to begin incorporating this
methodology into my lab research, when applicable. This is
information is significant to me as an Indigenous person because it
allows me to make culturally viable correlations between western
science and traditional science methodologies. It also
gives me a stronger appreciation for both approaches and has the
potential of benefiting other Diné and indigenous peoples.

Also within this research, I'm interested in exploring how my
community views, uses, and honors water in our daily lives and for
ceremony.

My overall professional goals are to enter academia after I earn
my Ph.D., and in the long term, I will think about ways to contribute
to improving science education amoung indigenous communities. There are
already many people working to improve indigenous education including
many native students here at the UW. This type of work is so intensely
needed and I wish everyone huge progress in this area!